1.0 INTRODUCTION TO POEM Definition of Poetry Poetry is language with musical elements.

Some experts maintain that poetry must contain such literary elements as metaphor and simile. Others stress rhythm and rhyme as the most essential parts of poetry. As with artitself, the definition of poetry is under constant debate. To shed some light on the subject, let's explore the history, function, types and features of poetry, and take a look at some misconceptions.

History It is impossible to trace poetry to a definite beginning, as it is likely as old as the human spoken word. The oldest recorded poetry is contained in the cuneiform tablets of ancient Mesopotamia circa 3,000 B.C. Classical Chinese poetry has its roots in the form of song lyrics dating to 1,000 B.C. Poetry appears in all the major religious canons, such as the Sanskrit Vedas, the Hebrew Tanakh and the Greek Bible. In the West, poetry has evolved from such ancient Greek masterpieces as Homer's "Odyssey" and "Iliad" circa 900 B.C., on into the Romantic poetry of Western Europe, and through the modern and postmodern periods to the present.

Function Poetry was born of a basic human desire to communicate not just the meaning of words, but also the sense or feel of them. Writers use poetry to evoke a mood in the reader or listener, so that the experience can occur on multiple levels of the human psyche. In rhetoric, elements of poetry are used to help the audience comprehend the message more clearly. In music, poetry is often used to evoke laughter, tears and other human emotional responses.

Types Poetry takes on many forms. One common type of poetry is rhyming couplets, in which each successive pair of lines are approximately the same length and rhyme with one another. In free-form poetry, rhyme and meter are loose, allowing for complex rhythms and greater contextual freedom. Poems can be long or short. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a well known long-form

poem that tells a story. Haiku, a short form of poetry, strives to evoke a moment or mood in just three short lines. With the advent of post-modernism (and even postpost-modernism), the rules have been successively cast out, reclaimed, taken apart and reassembled countless times. As a result, the "types" of poetry will never be completely standardized.

Features Poetry contains the features of both literature and music. One of the most recognizable elements of poetry is metaphor, a literary technique used to compare one thing to another ("A" is like "B, or "X" is "Y"). Imagery, another basic literary element of poetry, is often used to paint a picture in the mind of the reader or listener. To evoke a sense of authenticity some poets use vernacular language, as in the language of hip hop. On the musical side of poetry, there is rhyme, rhythm, meter, tone, pacing and other aural elements. Whether written or spoken, the musical features of poetry appeal to the human ear and thus play a crucial role in establishing mood.

Misconceptions Not all poetry has to rhyme. Yes, rhyme often helps a poem to succeed, as the human ear enjoys hearing things in pairs. But just as with symphonic music of the modern period, poetry can be musical without rhyming. On the other hand, free-form poetry does not mean "anything goes." All poetry, by definition, must contain musical elements, however subtle, and some intentionality with regard to the language. It can be difficult to distinguish between a free-form poem and a string of random words, but that is part of the attraction of poetry: aesthetic quality is in the ear of the beholder.

If You Should Go by Countee Cullen

Love, leave me like the light, The gently passing day; We would not know, but for the night, When it has slipped away.

Go quietly; a dream, When done, should leave no trace That it has lived, except a gleam Across the dreamer's face." By Countee Cullen

GRAPHIC ORGANISER

One never realizes what one have until it is lost.

THEMES Joy makes a long lasting memory in ones mind when reffered to the gleam on the dreamers face.

The tone of the poem is positive.

TONES

WRITERS MOOD

The kind of mood this poem creates is neither depressing nor very exciting.

MESSAGES

People usually would not feel the joy until the joy is slipped away and the person is struck by the darkness of the sorrow. Joy is reffered to as a pleasant dream. The joy does not leave a physical effect on the person and that the dream has just left a gleam across the deramers face. Prepares the reader to the sorrows that are struck after the joyful moments are over.

LITERARY DEVICES

Metaphor ='Love, leave me like the light' shows love is compared to the light that brightens a day just the way in which joys brightens people's lives. Personafication = 'The gently passing day' shows the passing day which is inanimate object is attributed to gently which is animate object.

Essay Writing Title of poem : If You Should Go by Countee Cullen After recite and analyse both of the above poems, we would like to write an essay based on the poem If You Should Go by Countee Cullen. The theme of the poem is about lifestyle. In this poem, the poet emphasizes on the understanding of human joys and sorrows. The importance of joy is shown by using different examples of joy such as love and dream. The poem consist of two stanzas. Both stanzas include a personal feeling or reactions towards joy during the happy moments as well as the feelings after the joyous moment is over. There are several different messages in this poem. The themes of the poem is that one never realizes what one have until it is lost. It refers to joyous moments. The second stanza, the poet also tells the reader that joy makes a long lasting memory in ones mind which is seen in the persons personality or the gleam on the persons face. Eventhough in the first stanza the poet does not mention whom the love is towards and what the dream is about, the reader still can interpret in the second stanza that is said in a positive manner. The next theme is a person never realizes what he has until it is lost. This can clearly seen when the poet says we would not know, but for the night, when the joy has slipped away. In this poem, the poet convey the message that people usually would not feel the joy until the joy is slipped away and the person is struck by the darkness of the sorrow. Joy is given a much more positive response shown in the second stanza. Here, the poet admit that the joy does not leave a physical effect on the person and the dream has just left a gleam across the dreamers face. This poem makes the reader realize the importance of joy before it is gone. The poem also mentally prepares the reader to the sorrows that are struck after the joyful moments are over. This poem consists of few literary devices. The poet use a classic example of metaphor. Love is compared to the light that brightens a day just the way in which joys brightens peoples lives. The gently passing of the day without author realizing its going to indicates to us that the joy is not given much importance in the persons life. The poet also use the symbol of personification. 'The gently

passing day' shows the passing day which is inanimate object is attributed to gently which is animate object. The tone of the poem is positive. The kind of mood that the poet express is neither depressing nor very exciting. This poem might strike a reader as very passive due to the use of phrases like the gently passing day or go quietly a dream. The poem use the rhyme scheme of a b a b. Finally, the poem is an excellently lyriced poem about an understanding of human joys and sorrows. The poet shows the positive point of view and plus along with the good use of imagery such as love and dream. To me, the theme, the rhyme scheme, the tone, the message and the mood all work together in the poem.